1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to an electrical wire connector and, more particularly, to a push-in connector for electromechanically interconnecting two or more electric conductors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In branch wiring of electrical circuits, it is commonplace to employ wire nuts for interconnecting electrical conductors. Typically a pair of jacketed electrical wires to be interconnected have their exterior insulation at their free ends stripped away to expose the interior electrical conductors. The exposed conductors are formed or twisted together, and then inserted into the interior of a threaded tubular sheath, a so-called wire nut, which, when turned about the conductors, threads them down deeper into the threaded sheath and causes the conductors to be held securely within the nut. For maximum insulation penetration into the nut, the stripped length of each bare conductor has to be varied in accordance with the number of conductors being interconnected, because more conductors will not screw down as far as fewer conductors will.
Although generally satisfactory for their intended purpose, the use of wire nuts has not proven to be altogether convenient or effective in practice. It takes time for an installer to bend or twist the conductors together prior to their insertion into the nut, and it takes more time for the installer to turn the nut multiple turns to secure the interconnection of the conductors. In many applications, particularly where a multitude of wires are to be interconnected, it is very desirable to minimize this assembly time involved in making these interconnections. Also, despite one's best efforts, it sometimes happens that one or more of the wires are not gripped by a sufficient number of thread coils and become detached from their nuts, thereby causing the wires to become disconnected or exposing the installation to the hazard of shortcircuit or arcing which could lead to electrical fire.